Rich Vanilla Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
• Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
• Pour pudding into dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled. Store covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place 2 cups milk and salt in a saucepan. Sprinkle sugar on milk and do not stir; heat over medium-high. Quickly combine cornstarch with remaining milk; add egg yolks and mix well. When milk comes to a full boil, remove saucepan from the heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Pudding will begin to thicken. Return to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into individual dishes. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in half-and-half. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.
• Remove from heat. In a thin stream, gradually add 1 cup of hot mixture to beaten egg yolks while whisking vigorously. Scrape hot egg mixture into saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and smooth. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Pour into a bowl or ramekins or teacups. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
• Serve topped with whipped cream and dulce de leche, as desired.
• NOTE: If using a vanilla bean in place of the extract, just add the split and scraped bean in step 1 when you add the half-and-half. Be sure to remove the bean pod before step 2.

Steps:

• Heat 4 cups of the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until steaming.
• Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup milk.
• Whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture until smooth, then gradually whisk the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened to a puddinglike consistency, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Cool slightly, stirring a few times to prevent a skin from forming. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding and refrigerate until completely cooled and thickened, about 4 hours.
• Before serving, whisk the pudding vigorously until smooth and creamy.
• Stir-ins:
• Cookies and Cream: Crush 20 chocolate wafer cookies, stir some into the pudding and top with the rest.
• Fresh Berries and Gingersnaps: Fold in 2 cups of fresh, mixed berries and top with about 12 finely crushed gingersnaps.
• Vanilla-Banana: Fold in 3 sliced bananas. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Fold in 24 crushed vanilla wafer cookies and top with more sliced bananas.
• Rocky Road: Fold in 1 cup each mini marshmallows and toasted chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips.
• Peanut Butter* and Jelly (See Cook's Note): Fold in 1 cup quartered red grapes and 1/3 cup each chopped roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips. Top with whole grapes.

Steps:

• Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and transfer to small mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk vigorously until vanilla seeds are well dispersed. Use the back of a spoon against the sides of the bowl to break up any remaining clumps of seeds. Then add the remaining milk and mix well. In a separate small bowl beat the egg yolks. Set aside. In a heavy cast iron pot or the top of a double boiler, mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Set on medium-high heat and slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant silicone spatula. Continue stirring while mixture heats up. Once mixture is steaming and frothy (not boiling), spoon up a 1/4 cup and stir into the egg yolks. Repeat twice. Set aside. Continue to stir the pudding. Once the pudding begins to thicken, add the yolk mixture to the pudding. Continue stirring until mixture comes to a low boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and add butter chunks, stirring until melted and mixed in. Pour pudding into 6 dishes. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. You may serve at room temperature or cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate for 2 or more hours.